Tom Coulter <metalshop@optonline.net> wrote:
> '97 Dakota Sport | 2WD | 3.9L V6
> I'd like to have a "standard" plug-in for towing lights. What I have in mind
> is a simple utility trailer - lights only (no brakes).
> I see nothing that looks like a "terminal" at the rear of the pickup
> anywhere under the bumper area. I also do not believe my pickup was
> equipped with a "towing package" (which I take to mean having the
> bundle/terminal I now desire.)
> To effect what I wanna do, is this a tall order? Or is there a poor man's
> way to do it? I'd be willing to buy a "kit" at PepBoys if I knew I could
> get something that would adapt.
> From years ago, I have a couple of "tail light taps" us used for a U-Haul
> trailer but I'd rather not use them unless I have to. I'd rather end up w/
> something "standard" - plug-n-play for a variety of simple trailers.
> Any thoughts are appreciated.
Yep, its fairly simple, you can buy a standard 4-way trailer
connector at most any auto parts or farm/fleet store, and probably
even Wal-Mart. Basically, its just a pigtail - the connector with 4
wires running from it. The four wires are right (green), left
(yellow), running lights (brown) and ground (white). This would be
the flat connector, it will have 3 female terminals and one male.
(Make sure you don't get the trailer side connector which has 3 male
terminals and one female.)
All you do is to find the appropriate wires at the back of the
truck and connect the trailer connector pigtail to them. Doing a good
job of weather protecting your connections will pay off in the long
run.
So, for example, what you might do is to find the wire that runs to
your license plate bulb (or the tail-light bulb) and spice the brown
wire into it. Find your left turn signal wire and splice the yellow
into it. The green connects to your right turn signal wire, and the
white you can just connect to a good ground, like underneath a bolt
somewhere on your frame or bumper.
The only "gotcha" you need to watch out for is the common vs
independent bulb system. As you can probably tell from the
explanation of the pigtail above, the standard trailer connector does
not use a separate bulb for turn signals and brake lights. So, your
trailer wire needs to tie into a wire on your truck which not only
activates for the turn signal in question, but also a brake light.
Some vehicles use an independent bulb system, where there is a
separate bulb (and thus a separate wire) for the brake light and the
turn signal. In that system, when you put on the brakes and also have
your turn signal on, one bulb under the lens will stay on constant
(brake light) and the other will flash (turn signal). When a vehicle
only uses one bulb for both brakes and turn signal, there needs to be
some logic somewhere ahead of the bulb that makes sure the bulb keeps
flashing when both the brakes and the turn signal are on. Otherwise
the bulb would just stay on steady because of the brake lights, and
nobody would be able to tell (from the rear) that you also had your
turn signal on.
If your Dak has a common bulb system already, then the wiring is as
simple as I've described above - just connect the appropriate wires on
the trailer pigtail to their matching wires at the rear of your truck.
However, if it uses an independent bulb system, you will need to buy
an adapter, which should be readily available and somewhere around $10
or less.
I'm not 100% sure on this so perhaps somebody in the know can
confirm whether the '97 Dak has a common or independent bulb system.
The closest FSM I have here is for an '01, and it looks to me as
though it would use a common bulb system. There appears to be just
two bulbs in the lens - one is for the backup lamp and the other looks
to be a dual filament, using one filament for the taillights and the
other filament is shared for turn/brake. If that's the case, then its
a common bulb system and you don't need to bother with an adapter,
just find the right wires and splice the connector into place.
Some connectors/pigtails come with a bracket that you can use to
bolt it to your bumper, others just hang free and you tuck it up under
the truck when you aren't using it.
What I've described above - splicing in a generic connector will
definitely work. However, you may want to check at the store to see
if they have a kit specifically for your '97 Dak. There are kits
avaialable for different vehicles which allow you to add the trailer
connector in a fairly simple, plug and play manner; the kit just plugs
in using the factory connectors. That's certainly an easier route to
take, and doesn't alter the factory wiring. I've seen these at
Wal-Mart, and I imagine most auto parts stores would carry them as
well. I don't know if anything is availble for your Dak, but you may
want to check. Worst case scenario though, you can still do it the
old fashioned way, by spicing into your factory wires as explained
above.
I hope that helps!
--
-Jon-
.- Jon Steiger -- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -.
| '96 Kolb Firefly, '96 Suzuki Intruder, Miscellaneous Mopars |
`-------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
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